Hope Estheim
Hope Estheim is a playable character in Final Fantasy XIII, who also appears in a major supporting role in Final Fantasy XIII-2 and Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII. He is the son of Nora Estheim and Bartholomew Estheim. In Final Fantasy XIII, Hope and his mother are caught up in the Purge as victims of circumstance, during which Nora is killed in battle. Then Hope is made a Pulse l'Cie and he chooses to journey with Lightning to become stronger and avenge his mother's death. In Final Fantasy XIII-2, the adult Hope is the director of the research institute called the Academy, and he helps Serah Farron and Noel Kreiss in their quest to save the future. In Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII, Hope allies with Lightning when she is chosen as Bhunivelze's savior and watches over her from within his Ark, acting as her faraway navigator and informant. Involvement Final Fantasy XIII Hope and his mother Nora Estheim are on a ten day vacation in the seaside town of Bodhum to see the annual fireworks show. His father, Bartholomew Estheim, is due to join them, but calls at the last minute to cancel much to Hope's relief. On the sixth day, they visit Euride Gorge but with the heavy security and buzz still circulating about the incident four days prior, they return to Bodhum. Two days later at the fireworks festival, Hope laughs at his mother's belief in the wish-making tradition, since he believes it is for children. He is disappointed his mother wished for his father to be with them next year, saying they are better off without him. Unknown to the both of them, PSICOM discovers the Pulse fal'Cie, Anima, within the Bodhum Vestige that night and Hope and Nora are caught within the town's subsequent quarantine. The Sanctum announces the Purge, the forced relocation of everyone in town to Pulse. As they wait in line for the Purge train in Bodhum Station, a frantic Nora begs with PSICOM that Hope be allowed to return home, willing to stay behind and be Purged herself but her pleas fall on deaf ears. Hope and Nora board the Purge train accompanied by Vanille, a young woman they befriended in line. When the Purge train enters the Hanging Edge, it is derailed by Lightning and Sazh Katzroy. Hope, Nora, Vanille, and the rest of the Purgees are rescued by the resistance group NORA and their leader, Snow Villiers. Some Purgees choose to fight alongside them, including Nora. From afar, Vanille and Hope watch the bridge with Nora and the other volunteers destroyed in an army attack, and Nora fall to her death after saving Snow's life. Hope blames Snow for his mother's death and so Vanille encourages him to approach Snow but Hope hesitates long enough for Snow to leave for the Pulse Vestige. Vanille and Hope steal Gadot's airbike and follow Snow. They crash-land within the Vestige and are ambushed by a group of Cie'th. Snow saves them and tells them he is about to save his fiancée Serah Farron, a Pulse l'Cie. Hope yells at Snow for wanting to save an enemy of Cocoon but, out of concern for their safety, Snow has Hope and Vanille accompany him deeper into the Vestige. They meet with Lightning and Sazh and find Serah outside Anima's Throne, who crystallizes, and the army attacks the Vestige. When Lightning, Sazh and Snow awaken the sleeping fal'Cie, Hope tries to run away but his path is blocked off. Anima brands everyone in the group a l'Cie and the damaged Vestige destroys the Hanging Edge and falls to Lake Bresha below, crystallizing it on impact. They decide to work together to solve their Focus and identify the legendary beast Ragnarok from a shared dream vision, believing their Focus is to destroy Cocoon. The group finds Serah's crystal form stuck in the crystallized lake and Snow remains to dig her out while the others continue onwards. Hope tries to tell Snow about Nora but Snow tells him to hurry or get left behind. In the abandoned ruins at the edge of the lake, the party finds an airship. Sazh attempts to pilot it, but it sustains damage from a PSICOM pursuit and crashes in the Vile Peaks. Lightning plans to get revenge against the Sanctum by destroying the capital city Eden's namesake fal'Cie that runs the government and leaves the group. Drawn by Lightning's determination and strength, Hope follows her, seeking to gain battle experience and toughen up. The two are separated from Vanille and Sazh and decide to go through the Gapra Whitewood and Hope's hometown of Palumpolum to catch a train to Eden. Against Lightning's orders, Hope takes control of a Pulsian Dreadnought and clears a path for them. Lightning's patience runs thin as Hope fails to keep up with her and she threatens to abandon him, inadvertently summoning her Eidolon Odin, who attacks Hope. Lightning saves him and his aid in defeating the Eidolon persuades her to have faith in the boy and help him 'toughen up'. In the Gapra Whitewood, Hope asks to take the lead and Lightning lends him her survival knife to boost his confidence. Hope reveals to Lightning his reason for following her: he intends to become strong enough to face Snow and make him pay for his mother's death. Taking Lightning's advice to form a plan, Hope conceives 'Operation Nora', his plan for revenge. When Lightning claims the Sanctum killed his mother and not Snow, Hope makes both Snow and the Sanctum his targets. To dissuade Hope, Lightning suggests they see his father and tell him about Nora. To avoid the PSICOM troops stationed throughout Palumpolum, Hope leads Lightning underground into the Nutriculture Complex where they see the fal'Cie Carbuncle that provides Cocoon with its food. Upon hearing Hope talk about the fal'Cie treating humans like their pets, Lightning realizes they have been fal'Cie pawns since birth, and fighting blindly to make up for doubt and confusion is not the answer. She tells Hope to abandon Operation Nora and talk to his father to find a new reason to keep fighting. Returning to the surface, Lightning and Hope are ambushed by Yaag Rosch and his troops. Snow and Oerba Yun Fang arrive and Lightning forces Hope to escape with Snow while Fang goes with her. On a wireless communicator, the groups agree on Hope's place in Felix Heights as their rendezvous point, but Hope still intends to complete Operation Nora. Snow's optimism and obliviousness continue to anger Hope, as he unknowingly insults Nora and the events surrounding her death. Hope asks Snow a series of personal questions to justify his belief for revenge, only to be further aggravated by Snow's answers. After making their way through the Rivera Towers, they are attacked by an Ushumgal Subjugator. Hope confronts Snow about Nora, unleashing his rage and blasting Snow off the roof of the building, leaving him hanging from the edge. Before Hope can kill Snow, a Sanctum airship fires shots behind him, knocking him unconscious and blasting him off the building. Snow catches Hope in midair and shields him from the fall with his body. Hope awakens on the streets below to find Snow had saved him. Snow apologizes for endangering Nora and being unable to save her. He returns Lightning's knife to Hope, giving him a second chance for revenge, but Hope confesses he knew nothing would bring Nora back and used revenge to cope with her death. The Ushumgal Subjugator returns and knocks Snow out, prompting Hope to fight it alone until Lightning and Fang arrive to help. Hope returns Lightning's knife and ends Operation Nora. After they promise to protect each other, the reunited party heads to the Estheim Residence and meets Bartholomew. Hope tells his father everything that has happened and the two repair their relationship. Bartholomew forgives Snow as he had fulfilled Nora's dying wish of getting Hope home. PSICOM attacks the house and Snow confronts Yaag Rosch. Under Lightning's orders, Hope ties up his father to make him look like an unwilling accomplice. Rygdea and more of the Cavalry soldiers arrive and Hope and the others leave with them, boarding the Lindblum. With the Cavalry's help, they infiltrate the Palamecia upon learning Sazh and Vanille are being held captive onboard. They reunite with the prisoners and face Primarch Galenth Dysley, who reveals his true form as the fal'Cie Barthandelus. Barthandelus claims their Focus is to become Ragnarok and kill the fal'Cie Orphan, the source of Cocoon's power. They escape the Palamecia into the Fifth Ark hidden beneath Eden where the party's l'Cie powers are fully awoken. They are confronted by the Cavalry leader, Cid Raines, who reveals himself a Sanctum l'Cie branded by Barthandelus to help them destroy Cocoon. They defeat Raines but he turns to crystal despite going against his Focus, inspiring the party to do the same. After Fang tames her Eidolon Bahamut, Hope resolves to make his own decisions without influence from the Sanctum or the fal'Cie, and see what Gran Pulse is like for himself. Using an old Pulsian airship, they exit the Ark out into Gran Pulse. After falling under attack by a wild wyvern, they land and create a base camp in the Vallis Media. The party searches Pulse for days but find no traces of human life. While gathering food, Hope's brand advances and he falls unconscious. Coming to later at night, Hope says Fang and Vanille's hometown of Oerba might have the answers they are looking for. Fearing for his friends' safety, he implores the others to go on without him but his anguish summons his Eidolon, Alexander. After Hope tames the Eidolon, the party comes to believe the Eidolons appear to give l'Cie hope, not to end their journey through death. Hope says he will ask for help earlier next time and decides to continue on the journey with the others. The party crosses the Archylte Steppe to the Mah'habara Subterra, where Hope tampers with another Dreadnought and falls into the path of the incoming fal'Cie Atomos. A group of Dreadnoughts stop Atomos and save Hope. The party uses the fal'Cie to travel to the Sulyya Springs and ride a capsule from atop Taejin's Tower to the dilapidated village of Oerba. The party is confronted by Barthandelus, who claims he has appointed a revived Raines as Primarch and tricked the Cavalry into destroying Orphan. The party returns to Cocoon to foil Barthandelus's plan and fight their way through the city to Orphan's Cradle, where the party fights Barthandelus. Upon Barthandelus's defeat, Orphan is awakened and everyone except Vanille and Fang are transformed into Cie'th. Remembering everything they went through on their journey, the group reverts back to normal, believing it to have been another fal'Cie trick. They save Fang from her cycle of torture at Orphan's hands and say they now have a new Focus: to save Cocoon. Hope concludes that if they have the power to destroy Cocoon, they also have the power to save it, after which everyone's l'Cie brands turn white. After Orphan's defeat, Cocoon loses power and falls from the sky. Fang and Vanille sacrifice themselves to become Ragnarok and save Cocoon, and Hope is crystallized alongside the rest of the party at the base of Cocoon's crystal pillar. Soon after, they awaken with their brands wiped clean. Though Serah and Dajh Katzroy also awaken, Hope is upset Vanille and Fang did not but remains positive remarking they have defied their fate before. Final Fantasy XIII-2 When Serah, Noel Kreiss and Mog arrive in the Paddra Ruins of the Yaschas Massif in 10 AF, Hope aids them during their battle against Aloeidai. Hope reveals Noel and Serah's appearance in the Bresha Ruins five years ago enabled the Academy to analyze the Time Gates and predict their arrival to the ruins. He says that within the last ten years Serah was not the only one who disappeared, but Snow, Sazh, and Dajh as well. Hope says the paradoxes started happening a few years ago and believes if he can solve their cause he could see everyone again. Hope explains he joined the Academy to atone for what happened to Lightning, Fang and Vanille, and to build a society using man-made power. He and his assistant, Alyssa Zaidelle, tell Serah and Noel about the Farseers led by the seeress Yeul who lived in Paddra in ancient times. Hope shows Serah and Noel the Oracle Drive, an ancient device that shows images of events considered impossible. The Oracle Drive shows images of the events leading to the Day of Ragnarok and blurry images of Lightning's fight with Caius Ballad in Valhalla. He theorizes the paradox affecting the area is affecting the Oracle Drive and gives an artefact to Noel and Serah so they can fix the paradox. After the paradox is resolved, Noel and Serah repeat their meeting with Hope in the alternate timeline at 1X AF, before he again uses the Oracle Drive to show them the now clear images of Lightning in Valhalla. When the Oracle Drive shows Cocoon falling at Caius's hands, Hope resolves to do what he can to prepare for the crisis while Serah and Noel continue to fix the timeline. Three years later, while overseeing Augusta Tower's construction, Hope and Alyssa devise the Proto fal'Cie Project to keep Cocoon airborne without the crystal pillar. Acting on its own from the future, the Proto fal'Cie adam arrives to that moment in time to reprogram the tower's AI and slaughter Hope, Alyssa, and the Academy members to maintain the time and order it is thriving in. Back in 1X AF, Hope catches a glimpse of Serah and Noel's fight with Adam in the Augusta Tower in 200 AF with Serah yelling at him for building the fal'Cie through the Oracle Drive, and abandons the project, negating his and Alyssa's future deaths. Hope begins the New Cocoon Project to build a man-made Cocoon. In the alternate timeline at 13 AF, Hope learns about the Thirteenth Ark through the Oracle Drive and invents a time capsule for him and Alyssa to enter suspended animation and reawaken 387 years later in Academia 4XX AF, where the Ark is supposed to appear. Welcoming Serah and Noel to "the future they saved", Hope invites them to the Academy headquarters where he explains that after investigating the Thirteenth Ark the Academy discovered it floats through the use of a Graviton Core. After Noel, Serah and Mog bring him the needed Graviton Cores, Alyssa gives them an artefact to open a new gate in the city. As Hope and Alyssa go see them off, Hope reflects on his past as a l'Cie when he was almost consumed by hate until Lightning and Snow showed him the way out. Promising to meet Noel and Serah again a century in the future, they part ways. In Final Fantasy XIII-2 Fragments After, Hope and Alyssa go to the Augusta Tower to investigate an intruder in the system. Hope disposes of duplicates trying to kill him and finds a diary belonging to Alyssa in the system that details the events in the Bresha Ruins in 5 AF, her hatred of the Pulse l'Cie for causing the Purge, her true identity as a paradox, how everyone would forget her and none of her research would be remembered as hers, her life ultimately having meant nothing. Her diary reveals she sided with Caius to save herself from disappearing and received a false artefact from him while sleeping in the time capsule with Hope. Caius told Alyssa to give the false artefact to Serah and Noel to get rid of them, which she did when they found the Graviton Cores, and Alyssa plans to deal with Hope in the Augusta Tower. Hope pleads with Alyssa telling her he can find a way for her to survive in the fixed timeline. Alyssa holds Hope at gunpoint but before she pulls the trigger she starts to disappear and begs him not to forget her. In Academia 500 AF, Hope only vaguely remembers Alyssa, and she has been replaced by an intern named Aina Stein, the descendent of Alyssa's friend Nena. In Academia 500 AF when Noel and Serah are attacked by Chaos Bahamut, Hope arrives with a squadron of soldiers to provide backup. As they pursue Caius atop an airship piloted by Sazh, Hope accompanies them but Serah tells him to ensure Fang and Vanille are safe, and Hope departs. After Noel and Serah defeat Caius in Valhalla, Hope and his team monitor the status of the crystal pillar, which is set to collapse. After Vanille and Fang have been safely removed from the pillar the old Cocoon falls and the new Cocoon, which Hope christens "Bhunivelze", rises. Learning that Noel, Mog, and Serah have returned from Valhalla, Hope takes an airship to greet them only to find Serah has died. As they mourn over her, Noel reveals Serah was a seeress like Yeul and killed by her visions. The world darkens and Mog says the goddess Etro is gone. Noel realizes he had unknowingly played into Caius's scheme and killed Etro. Etro's seal appears in the sky and Bhunivelze and everything on Gran Pulse is consumed by chaos and the world merges with Valhalla. Lightning Returns - Final Fantasy XIII When Lightning awakes from crystal stasis 13 days before the end of the world and Bhunivelze chooses her as the savior, Hope aids her from the Ark, staying in contact with her via wireless communication. At 6 AM each morning Hope summons Lightning back to the Ark where they can talk about the day's events and what their old comrades are up to. Hope briefly loses contact with Lightning when Lumina pulls her into Lightning's subconscious to talk with her in private, warning her that Hope cannot be fully trusted as what he learns is transmitted to Bhunivelze. On the final day when Lightning gives her remaining Eradia to Yggdrasil and finds herself in her subconscious, Hope's soul appears before her. Hope reveals his role as Bhunivelze's eyes to monitor her, stating he will cease to be as his purpose is over. Regardless, Hope is glad to be himself again as he encourages Lightning to save Vanille from going through with the Soulsong and that she will make the right choice when it comes to finding Serah. As Lightning laments on failing to protect him, Hope says it was because of her that he is no longer afraid of the future, not even now, and fades away. After Lightning and Fang convince Vanille to guide the dead to the Ark to be reborn in the new world, Bhunivelze awakens and uses Hope's now soulless body as a medium to absorb the souls of Noel, Fang, Vanille and Snow. When Lightning sets out to confront Bhunivelze in Cosmogenesis, the god, using Hope's body, explains that Lightning's interference in the Soulsong leaves him with no choice but to destroy the new world. Using Hope's body as a example before destroying it out of whim, Bhunivelze explains he will become the shared soul inhabiting the new humans he will create while explaining he has no idea where Hope's soul is. After Bhunivelze's defeat, Hope is freed by Lightning as she tells him to go to the new world to be reunited with the spirits of his parents in the next life while she remains to take Bhunivelze with her into the new unseen realm. After Lightning accepts Lumina as a part of herself, Hope helps her leave the world of her subconscious to aid her in fighting Bhunivelze. Joined by their other friends and the Eidolons, Hope lends his power to Lightning to land the deathblow to Bhunivelze. After witnessing Nova Chrysalia's destruction and the creation of a new unseen realm, Hope and his friends travel to the new world and begin their lives anew. Allies *Lightning *Snow Villiers *Sazh Katzroy *Dahj Katzroy *Vanille *Fang *Serah Farron *Alyssa Zaidelle *Gadot *Mog *Noel Kreiss Enemies *Orphan *Anima *Adam *Bhunivelze *Galeth Dylsley Appearances *Final Fantasy XIII *Final Fantasy XIII-2 *Lightning Returns- Final Fantasy XIII Category:Male Category:Final Fantasy Characters Category:Final Fantasy XIII Category:Humans Category:L'Cie Category:Researchers Category:Leaders Category:Lightning Returns Category:Alive Category:Protagonist